Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel rumor was bound to emerge, and now it has
By Asher Fair
Sebastian Vettel had surprisingly not been linked to AlphaTauri for the 2021 Formula 1 season, but now the inevitable rumor has finally emerged.
Since Ferrari confirmed that he would not be back with the team for the 2021 Formula 1 season, and really even before that confirmation was made, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel had been linked to several other teams on the grid for next year, including but not limited to Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Renault.
It has recently emerged that his most likely landing sport is Aston Martin (currently Racing Point) as the replacement for Sergio Perez alongside Lance Stroll, and a deal there appears imminent but has not yet been solidified. That has not, however, quieted the rumor mill.
In an article published by Beyond the Flag on Tuesday, July 14, we outlined the fact that Vettel had already been linked to several teams, and that the rumors about his future had already become greater in magnitude than those that surrounded two-time world champion Fernando Alonso since his 2018 retirement prior to his seemingly inevitable 2021 return with Renault.
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This article referenced AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso, as one team to which the 33-year-old German had not yet been linked, but one to which he would likely be linked eventually simply because the possibility exists and more time has passed without him signing elsewhere.
From July 14:
“With which teams does that leave us? Just AlphaTauri and Williams. With the former being the Red Bull sister team, with Vettel still having a close relationship with many individuals within the organization and with literally three-quarters of the current Red Bull/AlphaTauri stable consisting of former Red Bull drivers who the team re-hired, get ready for that rumor to start to circulate.”
And voilà.
AlphaTauri are now considered a “serious opportunity” for Vettel for the 2021 season.
Because of course they are; why wouldn’t they be?
They exist as an organization, they’re a Formula 1 team, and they don’t yet have Vettel under contract for next year.
It’s a perfect match in this day and age for the Formula 1 rumor mill.
Here is what former driver Ralf Schumacher had to say about the matter, according to Sky Germany.
“Sebastian started there. Franz Tost, like Helmut Marko, is a big fan of his, so I can see something starting there,” he said.
Indeed, the 53-time Grand Prix winner did start there back when they were Toro Rosso in 2007, and he got his first win for the team in 2008. This led to his promotion to Red Bull Racing ahead of the 2009 season, and he went on to win four consecutive titles for the Milton Keynes-based team from 2010 to 2013 before leaving for Ferrari after 2014.
Schumacher believes, however, that them being a possibility goes a step further than Vettel’s relationship with the organization from his days with Toro Rosso and Red Bull.
He believes that it hinges on the results of Renault’s protests against Racing Point’s “pink Mercedes” car for 2020. The RP20 is a near carbon copy of the 2019 championship-winning Mercedes W10.
Should this protest fail, that would potentially open up AlphaTauri to have access to the same materials and resources as the flagship Red Bull team.
“I can imagine that Red Bull would then take a different approach and give both teams the same cars,” Schumacher continued.
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It was bound to happen, and Vettel is officially a candidate to end up at AlphaTauri next year. Of course, the odds of it happening are small, but until a signing is made, the possibility exists.